2026 OLBI Human Library | Take a trip through the Francophonie!

Andrea Siebra teaches French as a second language at uOttawa. A multilingual Francophone immigrant, she’s spent over 20 years helping adults learn French, often as they grapple with identity, professional and personal issues. French has played a big part in her journey, cutting across the places she’s gone, the life choices she’s made and the people she’s met. For her, French isn’t just a communication tool — it’s a space to build an identity, engage in dialogue and feel seen. One of her passions is seeing people regain confidence in their French skills and embrace their accent, their history and their unique way of making French part of their daily lives. She’s a strong believer in a living, multicultural, compassionate Francophonie made up of many voices and shared experiences.

Angela Brückel-Lichtenöcker has been teaching French at OLBI since 2008. Growing up in Germany, she learned French as a second language while attending high school in small-town Bavaria. Enthusiastic teachers and an excellent exchange program motivated her to dive into the French-speaking world. After a few years of studying French and Latin at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, she headed to California to complete her master’s and PhD in French literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her strong interest in languages, cultures and literatures from around the world undoubtedly stems from her personal and professional development spanning several places and cultures across Europe and North America. In teaching, whether at the beginner, intermediate or advanced level, she’s most passionate about the rich discussions and interactions that spring up in the classroom.

Benjamin Boutin is an affiliated researcher with the Collège des chaires de recherche sur le monde francophone and a PhD candidate in public administration at uOttawa. He investigates contemporary dynamics of the Francophonie, cultural diplomacy, governance and institutions’ ways of adapting to social, geopolitical and digital change. His areas of focus include the Alliance Française network, its resilience and its capacity for innovation. As honorary president of Francophonie sans frontières, he has been active from a young age in fostering openness, inclusion, co-operation and sharing within the French-speaking world. He also authored À la découverte de la Francophonie, a graphic novel that takes school-aged readers through the history of the Francophonie and issues facing it. Through his research and commitments, Boutin promotes a vision of the French language as a living space for dialogue, creativity and cross-cultural encounters. Diversity, in biology and in cultures, is one of his top passions.

A lifelong lover of languages who grew up between France, Côte d’Ivoire and Seychelles, Catherine Elena Buchanan was destined to teach French as a second language. She holds a BA and an MEd in second language teaching from uOttawa and has worked at OLBI since 2000. There, she has quickly risen through the ranks, taking on more teaching, administrative and research responsibilities. She was and remains instrumental in the development of the French Immersion Stream. Buchanan’s research focuses on promoting teaching and exploring potential uses of AI. In the classroom, she shares her passion for French and showcases the Francophonie in all its diversity. She has served as assistant director of OLBI since 2019 and as vice-president of the North American commission at the Fédération internationale des professeurs de français since 2025. Her passions span high and low culture, from the literary to the culinary spheres.

Dana O’Brien works at the Julien Couture Resource Centre. She’s lived in Ottawa her whole life. A Franco-Ontarian, she learned French in elementary and high school, and English from her father. Now, she’s completing her studies in French and hopes to support Francophone clients as a social worker. For fun, she studies Celtic mythology and history. She’s also trying to pick up other languages. O’Brien feels a close personal connection to French given her family’s history, with past generations migrating to Canada. She looks forward to meeting you!

Born in Amqui, Quebec, Dominic Couture came to Ottawa in 2019. Since then, he’s become a proud new Franco-Ontarian! For an applied linguist like him, uOttawa is a fascinating place. Besides its bilingual campus, he says the University is doing more and more to bolster the Francophonie. The uOttawa campus also welcomes students and staff from different backgrounds who speak other languages, making it a multicultural and multilingual environment. With his love for the Francophonie and keen interest in learning foreign languages, Dominic couldn’t imagine advancing his career anywhere else. He’s also an accessibility expert at uOttawa, a role that requires him to work in English and French.

Originally from California, Hayley Tama fell in love with French culture thanks to a dedicated teacher and a French film, Amélie. She learned the language by watching movies and listening to Édith Piaf songs. Her passion led her to pursue a double major in modern languages. Then, she went to France and lived with a host family to get a fully immersive experience. One term abroad turned into several years in Brittany as she completed her master’s at the University of Rennes and worked in a French–American library. Now, she’s a conversation partner at the Julien Couture Resource Centre while she pivots to social work so she can advocate for social justice — although language learning inspired her career change. One of her greatest passions is building bridges between people from different backgrounds, whether through a shared language, intercultural discoveries or her deep commitment to social justice.

Majda Taourou Talbi’s passions are strategic management, marketing and bolstering Francophone minority communities. She has over 10 years of experience in project management, budget planning and international business development. After bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics and organizational management from the Université Nice Sophia-Antipolis, she quickly took on increasingly senior roles in France and Canada, blending business expertise, team leadership and innovative strategy development.

But the post-secondary education sector captured Talbi’s heart. She joined uOttawa as manager of communications and marketing for the Faculty of Arts, helping to raise the University’s profile and support the Faculty’s strategic development.

She’s committed to diversity, inclusion and visibility for Francophone communities. She’s also involved in mentorship and support for entrepreneurs, and community projects to promote integration and socioeconomic development. Fascinated by mythology and spirituality, she draws on her Berber roots and her experience as an immigrant to enhance her personal and professional mindset.

Originally from Quebec, Mawy Bouchard came to Ontario in 2002 after completing her PhD at McGill University. In 2004, the uOttawa Département de lettres françaises recruited her to join its dynamic team. Her primary focus is the long Renaissance, an area where language plays a critical role. Bouchard’s research from the last decade reveals her affinity for Montaigne, Étienne de La Boétie and Marie de Gournay. She is also interested in French and Italian texts from the early 1500s, when language usage was evolving in step with social and intellectual changes of the era. She has two great passions. One is discovering rare and impactful texts that can impart knowledge, awareness and illuminating insights into human societies across centuries. The other is learning foreign languages, each of which opens up a new window to the world and ways of thinking.

Maxemilienne Bassek Kindom grew up in Cameroon but left at age 17 to study at uOttawa. Like many immigrants, she learned that going to school far from home takes bravery, resilience and determination. During her studies, she paid her tuition by taking on multiple jobs — from styling hair to working as a cashier to teaching public servants French as a second language at a private school. Things weren’t always easy. As a Francophone immigrant, she sometimes had to work twice as hard to prove herself. She had to learn how to adapt, be assertive and turn challenges into opportunities. But she also discovered just how diverse, vibrant and supportive the Francophonie can be. After graduation, she landed the job of event co-ordinator. Come explore the tough but inspiring journey of a Francophone immigrant who knows first-hand how incredibly diverse the Francophone and Francophile community in Canada is.